emaidel
02-05-2009, 05:14 AM
I recently posted the fact that the upper bass driver in one of my Dahlquist DQ-10's was failing, and that I was faced with paying Regnar of NY a lot to rebuild both, which is recommended, or purchasing two new, and very different drivers from Parts EXpress. I was incorrect regarding Regnar's pricing for the rebuild of these 5" drivers: their price isn't $150 each, but "only" $90 each. The new, Dayton Audio drivers from Parts Express were only $22 and change each.
The Dayton drivers are, from outward appearances, infinitely superior drivers in and of themselves. Instead of a relatively cheap, stamped basket, they're housed in cast aluminum baskets, with a magnet of substantially more weight. The cone material is a black shiny substance (common to many a driver today) with a butyl rubber surround. Installation wasn't exactly "a breeze" since the mounting holes on the masonite panel in the DQ-10's and those on the Dayton Audio drivers don't line up, but there are certainly more difficult challenges to overcome.
Once I installed one, I decided to listen to the speaker before I replaced the other. Everything sounded just fine, and even a bit clearer in areas I wouldn't have expected, notably in upper midrange. Why this should be so is something I can't explain. So, I then replaced the upper bass driver in the other speaker. I also replaced a dead piezo supertweeter in one speaker with the incredibly cheap ($1.44 each!) unit I bought from Parts Express, and can't detect any difference whatsoever between it and the original. Both are really cheap products, weighing about a half a pound each (if that much!), yet, with so little coming from them, being crossed over at 12,000HZ, I have to agree with Jon Dahlquist's decision to use such crappy drivers, as they work just fine in that regard, and don't offer the characteristically unpleasant stident top end response when used as a primary tweeter in lesser systems.
Then I sat down to listen, and to listen critically before I reassembled the grilles. I have to admit that, while all I had in mind was correcting a problem, I did indeed wind up upgrading my DQ-10's. On much material, there's little difference, but when playing a Telarc CD of Handel's "Messiah" performed by the Boston Baroque, I was all but knocked over at the increased clarity and detail in the human voice - especially tenors and basses. Samples of various Beethoven symphonies on the BIS/Vanska series also resulted in increased detail and a far more musical quality to French horns, trombones and woodwinds.
Unfortunately, the original problem still exists, though to a lesser degree. That suggests that the original driver may not have been defective to begin with, but that something (perhaps a capacitor?) in the crossover is failing. There's also the possibility that the new drivers need to burn in for a while, and loosen up some. That's certainly what I'm hoping is the case, and while listening to a few selections yesterday, I didn't hear any difficulties at all, so perhaps there isn't anything wrong with the crossover. Only time will tell, and if the problem persists, I'll have to give the folks at Regnar a call to discuss which component of the crossover is the likely culprit.
Still, replacing the upper bass drivers in a pair of DQ-10's with the Dayton Audio Reference 5" drivers, for less than $23 each, is a modest investment resulting in a disproportionate improvement. Most highly recommended!
The Dayton drivers are, from outward appearances, infinitely superior drivers in and of themselves. Instead of a relatively cheap, stamped basket, they're housed in cast aluminum baskets, with a magnet of substantially more weight. The cone material is a black shiny substance (common to many a driver today) with a butyl rubber surround. Installation wasn't exactly "a breeze" since the mounting holes on the masonite panel in the DQ-10's and those on the Dayton Audio drivers don't line up, but there are certainly more difficult challenges to overcome.
Once I installed one, I decided to listen to the speaker before I replaced the other. Everything sounded just fine, and even a bit clearer in areas I wouldn't have expected, notably in upper midrange. Why this should be so is something I can't explain. So, I then replaced the upper bass driver in the other speaker. I also replaced a dead piezo supertweeter in one speaker with the incredibly cheap ($1.44 each!) unit I bought from Parts Express, and can't detect any difference whatsoever between it and the original. Both are really cheap products, weighing about a half a pound each (if that much!), yet, with so little coming from them, being crossed over at 12,000HZ, I have to agree with Jon Dahlquist's decision to use such crappy drivers, as they work just fine in that regard, and don't offer the characteristically unpleasant stident top end response when used as a primary tweeter in lesser systems.
Then I sat down to listen, and to listen critically before I reassembled the grilles. I have to admit that, while all I had in mind was correcting a problem, I did indeed wind up upgrading my DQ-10's. On much material, there's little difference, but when playing a Telarc CD of Handel's "Messiah" performed by the Boston Baroque, I was all but knocked over at the increased clarity and detail in the human voice - especially tenors and basses. Samples of various Beethoven symphonies on the BIS/Vanska series also resulted in increased detail and a far more musical quality to French horns, trombones and woodwinds.
Unfortunately, the original problem still exists, though to a lesser degree. That suggests that the original driver may not have been defective to begin with, but that something (perhaps a capacitor?) in the crossover is failing. There's also the possibility that the new drivers need to burn in for a while, and loosen up some. That's certainly what I'm hoping is the case, and while listening to a few selections yesterday, I didn't hear any difficulties at all, so perhaps there isn't anything wrong with the crossover. Only time will tell, and if the problem persists, I'll have to give the folks at Regnar a call to discuss which component of the crossover is the likely culprit.
Still, replacing the upper bass drivers in a pair of DQ-10's with the Dayton Audio Reference 5" drivers, for less than $23 each, is a modest investment resulting in a disproportionate improvement. Most highly recommended!